Sport

Carlos Alcaraz heads into the Shanghai Masters mentally refreshed after winning the Japan Open in Tokyo. The Spaniard, who returned from a wrist injury earlier this season, is seeking a strong finish to 2026 after struggling in previous Shanghai appearances

Australia return to South Africa for their first Test series there since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. Six players from that series remain in the squad, while South Africa have five survivors, setting up a potentially tense three-Test contest

Arunachal Pradesh will miss the Vinoo Mankad Trophy amid a legal and administrative deadlock within its cricket association. The crisis has already affected junior tournaments and threatens Ranji Trophy participation, leaving players across age groups without opportunities to represent the state nationally

Hyderabad’s Saatvic Kumar Singh strengthened his lead at the IGU Western India Junior Boys Golf Championship with a three-under 69 in the second round. His seven-under 137 total gives him a four-shot advantage, while Shaurya Dagar climbed to joint second

PV Sindhu began her Arctic Open campaign with a straight-game win over Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang, but India suffered several women’s singles exits. Tanvi Sharma also advanced, while two Indian men secured main-draw spots through qualifying

Former India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has backed Smriti Mandhana to lead the team forward, saying their decade-long understanding will remain valuable. Harmanpreet, who stepped down after India’s Asian Games gold, said she wants to focus on her game and family

National record holder Nirbhay Choudhary will target a personal best at the 65th National Open Athletics Championships in Delhi. The four-day meet will also feature comeback-bound sprinter Manikanta Hoblidhar and leading race walkers Servin Sebastian and Paramjeet Singh Bisht

Fresh from winning gold at the Asian Games, Telangana archer Chikitha Taniparthi is looking forward to competing on home soil as Archery Premier League Season 2 begins in Hyderabad. The league features 48 archers across six teams in a fast-paced format

Local golfer Ishnidh Singh Virdi carded a three-under 69 to take a two-shot lead at eight-under 136 after 36 holes of the IGU Rotary Southern India Bio-Gen Sansera Amateur Golf Championships in Bengaluru. Anas Khan and Harjai Milkha Singh share second place

Brilliant Chess Academy will host the 245th Brilliant Trophy Chess Tournament on October 10 and 11 at Brilliant Grammar High School, Dilsukhnagar, with Rs 10,000 in prize money. A separate open rapid tournament will be held at A2H Chess Academy on October 10

The Hyderabad Golf Association is looking to build on its partnership with the AM Green IGPL by attracting more professional golf events to the city. The Krishna Invitational 2026 is being held at Hyderabad Golf Club from October 7 to 10

Indian women boxers are targeting early Olympic qualification at the 2027 World Championships in Kazakhstan after a successful 2026 season. Head coach Santiago Nieva said securing quotas early would allow the team more time for focused preparation ahead of the Los Angeles Games

New India captain Smriti Mandhana and batter Jemimah Rodrigues paid tribute to outgoing skipper Harmanpreet Kaur after she stepped down from leadership across formats. Smriti hailed Harmanpreet’s decade-long leadership, while Jemimah thanked her for her contribution

JioStar has launched ‘Beyond Boundaries’, an initiative aimed at connecting advertisers with regional-language cricket audiences through live feeds and pre- and post-programming partnerships. The company highlighted rising regional-language consumption and strong digital engagement during TATA IPL 2026

Newly appointed Delhi Capitals head coach Sourav Ganguly said he was excited about his new role and vowed to give his best to make the franchise successful. Ganguly said the squad has enough talent to compete with the best teams

Paralympic champions Pramod Bhagat and Bhavina Patel will be India’s flag bearers at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games Opening Ceremony on October 18. The duo has won eight Asian Para Games medals and will lead India’s contingent.

The Indian Olympic Association has welcomed the IOC’s process to select a host for the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. India’s bid, centred on Amdavad, Gujarat, aims to use the Games to drive sporting participation and wider social transformation.

Naman Dhir described his T20I debut against the West Indies as “very satisfying” after taking three wickets in India’s eight-wicket win. The all-rounder credited honest hard work, preparation and faith for his rapid rise to international cricket

Suresh Raina has welcomed Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return to India’s T20I squad for the five-match series against New Zealand. Raina praised the veteran seamer’s discipline, hard work and resilience after his recall following a prolonged absence from international cricket

India captain Shreyas Iyer climbed 18 places to a career-best seventh in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings after his unbeaten maiden century against the West Indies. India now have four batters in the format’s top 10, led by Ishan Kishan.

Sunil Gavaskar recalled facing deliveries at nearly 150 kmph without a helmet during his playing days on The Great Indian Kapil Show. Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri also shared cricketing anecdotes, discussed his retirement and reflected on the IPL’s impact

Ellyse Perry has expressed disappointment over Australia women’s limited home schedule this summer, with the team set for a five-month international hiatus after six white-ball matches. Perry said the packed global calendar has made it difficult to play before home fans

Virat Kohli’s spokesperson has rejected an allegation that the former India captain was paid Rs 5 crore for visiting Premanand Maharaj’s Vrindavan ashram. The claim circulated on social media, but no publicly available documentary evidence has emerged to substantiate the alleged payment.

Tanmay Baloda took 14 wickets, including 8-41 in the second innings, as India Under-19 beat Australia Under-19 by 10 wickets in Ahmedabad. The victory sealed a 2-0 red-ball series win after India had already swept the one-day series 3-0.